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Diese Studie im Rahmen eines IVF/ICSI Programmes beschäftigt sich mit der detaillierten Morphologie der Vorkern- und Embyonalstadien bei der extrakorporalen Befruchtung beim Menschen. Die morphologische Beurteilung der Zygoten und Embryonen während der Eizell- und Embryokultur ist von zentraler Bedeutung für den Erfolg der Behandlung, da damit die Entwicklung vitaler Embryonen vorhergesagt und die Auswahl hochwertiger Embryonen für den Transfer ermöglicht wird. Aufgrund der derzeitigen gesetzlichen Bestimmungen ist in Deutschland nur eine Auswahl von Vorkernstadien, bei denen es noch zu keiner Verschmelzung des weiblichen und männlichen Vorkerns gekommen ist, aber nicht von Embryonen gestattet. Damit kommt der extrakorporalen Befruchtung in Deutschland, im Gegensatz zur Situation in praktisch allen europäischen Ländern, der Beurteilung der Vorkernstadien (Zygoten) am ersten Tag der Kultur eine entscheidende Bedeutung zu.
Die Juvenile Idiopathische Arthritis ist eine der häufigsten Ursachen von Gelenkbeschwerden im Kindesalter. Die Pathogenese der Erkrankung ist bisher wenig verstanden. Da sich jedoch bei einigen Subtypen der JIA Antinukleäre Antikörper (ANA) nachweisen lassen, liegt eine Beteiligung von B-Lymphozyten nahe. Mittels einer Kombination aus phänotypischer Zuordnung bestimmter B-Zell Differenzierungsstadien sowie Einzelzellsortierung, Amplifikation und Sequenzierung des rearrangierten Immunglobulingens individueller B-Zellen wurde der Frage nach klonaler Verwandschaft unterschiedlich differenzierter B-Zell Stadien und Selektion innerhalb des Gelenkes nachgegangen.
The Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera) is among the most versatile species in the world. Its adaptability is rooted in thousands of the differently specialized individuals acting jointly together. Thus, bees that are able to handle a certain task or condition well can back up other individuals less capable to do so on the colony level. Vice versa, the latter individuals might perform better in other situations. This evolutionary recipe for success ensures the survival of colonies despite challenging habitat conditions. In this context, the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor reflects the most pronounced biotic challenge to honeybees worldwide. Without proper treatment, infested colonies rapidly dwindle and ultimately die. Nevertheless, resistance behaviours against this parasite have evolved in some populations through natural selection, enabling colonies to survive untreated. In this, different behaviours appear to be adapted to the respective habitat conditions and may complement each other. Yet, the why and how of this behavioural response to the mite remains largely unknown. My thesis focuses on the biological background of Varroa-resistance traits in honeybees and presents important findings for the comprehension of this complex host-parasite interaction. Based on this, I draw implications for both, applied bee breeding and scientific investigations in the field of Varroa-resistance. Specifically, I focus on two traits commonly found in resistant and, to a lower degree, also mite-susceptible colonies: decreased mite reproduction and the uncapping and subsequent recapping of sealed brood cells. Examining failures in the reproductive success of mites as a primary mechanism of Varroa-resistance, I was able to link them to specific bee behaviours and external factors. Since mite reproduction and the brood rearing of bees are inevitably connected, I first investigated the effects of brood interruption on the reproductive success of mites. Brood interruption decreased the reproductive success of mites both immediately and in the long term. By examining the causes of reproductive failure, I could show that this was mainly due to an increased share of infertile mites. Furthermore, I proved that interruption in brood rearing significantly increased the expression of recapping behaviour. These findings consequently showed a dynamic modulation of mite reproduction and recapping, as well as a direct effect of brood interruption on both traits. To further elucidate the plasticity in the expression of both traits, I studied mite reproduction, recapping behaviour and infestation levels over the course of three years. The resulting extensive dataset unveiled a significant seasonal variation in mite reproduction and recapping. In addition, I show that recapping decreases the reproductive success of mites by increasing delayed developing female offspring and cells lacking male offspring. By establishing a novel picture-based brood investigation method, I could furthermore show that both the removal of brood cells and recapping activity specifically target brood ages in which mite offspring would be expected. Recapping, however, did not cause infertility of mites. Considering the findings of my first study, this points towards complementary mechanisms.
This underlines the importance of increased recapping behaviour and decreased mite reproduction as resistance traits, while at the same time emphasising the challenges of reliable data acquisition. To pave the way for a practical application of these findings in breeding, we then investigated the heritability (i.e., the share of genotypic variation on the observed phenotypic variation) of the accounted traits. By elaborating comparable test protocols and compiling data from over 4,000 colonies, we could, for the first time, demonstrate that recapping of infested cells and decreased reproductive success of mites are heritable (and thus selectable) traits in managed honeybee populations.
My thesis proves the importance of recapping and decreased mite reproduction as resistance traits and therefore valuable goals for breeding efforts. In this regard, I shed light on the underlying mechanisms of both traits, and present clear evidence for their interaction and heritability.